Jar-sealing apparatus.



Patented 0ct.'|.4, I902. W. A. LORENZ. JAR SEALING APPARATUS.

(Application filed Jan. 5, 1901.)

(No Model.)

Fig. 1.

Zlfitne ssees m: mmms v-rsas cu, mom-Lumen mswmmon, 0.1:.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM A. LORENZ, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR OF THREE- FOURTHSTO BEECH-NUT PACKING COMPANY, OF CANAJOHARIE, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION OFNEW YORK, AND WILLIAM H. HONISS, OF

HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT.

JAR-SEALING AIPARATUS.

SIEGIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 711,219, dated October14, 1902. Application filed January 5, 1901. SerialNo. 42,173. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. LORENZ, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of Hartford, in the county of Hart- 5 ford andState of Connecticut, have invented certain new and-useful Improvementsin J ar- Sealing Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improved appara- IO tus for exhausting andhermetically sealing jars, cans, and similar receptacles.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a plan view of the apparatus, one cornerbeingin section on the line 1 of Fig. 2 to show the interior ar- I5rangement. Fig. 2 is a side view in section, taken along the line 2 2 ofFig. 1, showing the apparatus Within an air-tight receiver ready for theexhausting operation. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side view in section,showing modified details of the apparatus.

These jars are commonly closed by means of caps C, the joint between thecap and jar being hermetically closed by means of a compressible annulargasket of rubber or similar material. During the exhausting operationthe caps are preferably allowed to rest lightly upon their gaskets inorder to allow free exit for the air within the jar. On account ofirregularities and inequalities in the jars, the

gaskets, or the caps it frequently happens that the latter do notentirely close the annular space between them and the gaskets, but restupon the higher portions, leaving passages through which more or lessair is liable to return to the interior of the jar when it is readmittedto the receiver at the conclusion of the exhausting operation.

It is the object of this invention to provide means which while allowingthe caps thus to rest lightly upon their gaskets to facilitate theexhausting operation will automatically force the caps down and seal thejars when the air is readmitted to the receiver and before any of thereadmitted air can find its way 5 to the interior of the jars.

This apparatus consists of an open-sided j ar-receptacle 6 forpartiallyinclosing the jars J, resting upon a base 7, which may be invalve I.

tegral with the side of the receptacle 6,- as here shown, or may be apart of the receiver R, in which the apparatus is employed. Ajar-presser 10 is placed over the tops of the jars and is provided witha depending rim 11, which laps and preferably interlaps with suitablecooperating means for deflecting the readmitted air from returningdirectly to the exterior of the closure-joint. In the preferredarrangement here shown the depending rim interlaps with the deflector13, the interlapping being arranged to form an extended pas- 6o sage orport, which becomes the sole means of communication between the interiorand the exterior of the receptacle and without in any way interferingwith the downward or closing movement of the presser against the jars.The presser 10 is preferably a flexible plate or sheet of rubber orsimilar elastic material which yields readily to suit the inequalitiesin the height of the jars, thereby enabling the readmitted pressure tobear with equal force upon all of the jars, even though they may varyconsiderably in height. The presser 10 is also preferably attached to orsupported by a frame 14:, having apertures 15 located approximately overthe centers of the jar-caps, which aid in directing the pressure tothose centers, thereby tending to avoid the tilting of the caps as theyare pressed down. In the practical operation of this apparams the filledjars are placed in the receptacle and the caps are placed upon thegaskets.

Then the presser 10 is applied over the tops of the caps-and theapparatus is placed in a receiver R, of any suitable construction,having an outlet or exhaust pipe 0 and an inlet- During thecomparatively slow exhaustion of the air from the interior of theapparatus the air in the jars has ample time to pass freely out betweenthe caps and the gaskets and between the interlapping leaves 0 or platesof the presser l0 and the receptacle 6, so that the vacuum in the jarsis substantially uniform with that produced in the receiver B. When asuitable vacuum has been produced, the atmospheric pressure isreadinitted through the inlet-valve I, which on account of the describedconstruction first takes effect upon the outer side of the presser l0and forces it down at once, thus quickly closing whatever passages mayhave theretofore existed between the gaskets and their caps due to theirregularities hereinbefore mentioned. This closing action takes elfectbefore the readmitted air can make its way to those openings through theextended, narrow,and more or less tortuous passages formed by thelapping and defiectin g members of the apparatus. This lappingconstruction may be modified in many ways, one of which is shown in Fig.3, in which the depending rim 11 of the presser laps the side wall 17 ofthe receptacle 6. The number of these lapping and deflecting members andthe depth to which they lap or interlap may be modified to any requiredextent, so as to correspondingly vary the length of the passage throughwhich the readmitted air must pass before reaching the jars.

The construction and arrangement of this apparatus may be modified inmany other ways which will be obvious to those skilled in the art tosuit the number and kind of jars employed or to suit differentconditions. The jars are herein shown to be in an upright position, withthe presser applied on the tops of the caps; but this is obviouslynon-essential, since Whenever the nature of the contents permits thejars may be inverted or laid upon their sides. The presser may beapplied either to the caps or to the bottoms of the jars or in any waythat may be convenient so long as it serves, by means of the readmittedair, to, press the jars and caps together. Likewise the construction andarrangement of the lapping or interlapping members of the presser andthe jar-supporting or jar-inclosing members of the apparatus may bemodified in many obvious Ways.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a jar-sealing apparatus, the combinationof an exhausting-receiver, a jar-receptacle, a jar-presser lapping withthe receptacle, means for exhaustingthe air from the receiver and fromboth sides of the presser, means for readmitting the air-pressure anddirecting it against the outer side of the presser, whereby thatpressure automatically forces the jars and their caps together beforethe air can enter the jars.

2. In a jar-sealing apparatus the combination of an exhausting-receiver,an open-sided j ar-receptacle, a jar-presser interlappin g with thereceptacle and substantially closing the open side thereof, means forexhausting the air from the receiver and from both sides of the presser,and means for readmitting the air-pressure and directing it against theouter side of the presser, whereby that pressure automatically forcesthe jars and their caps together before the air can enter the jars.

3. In a jar-sealing apparatus the combination of an exhausting-receiver,a jar-receptacle, a jar-presser interlapping with the receptacle andhaving a flexible diaphragm, means for exhausting the air from thereceiver and from both sides of the presser, and means for readmittingthe air-pressure and directing it against the outer side of the presser,whereby that pressure is distributed over all the jars with substantialuniformity by the flexibility of the diaphragm, and automatically forcesthe jars and their caps together before the air can enter the jars.

Signed at Hartford, Connecticut, this 29th day of December, 1900.

WILLIAM A. LORENZ.

Witnesses:

WM. H. HoNIss, J os. MERRITT.

